Vacuum-pan.



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No-881,351. PATENTED MAR. 10, 1908.

A. P. SMITH. VACUUM PAN.

- APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2. 1904.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

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1 95 Inn eases N .881 51. PATENTHD MAR. 10 1908.

0 A. P. SMITH;

VACUUM PAN.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2, 1904.

2 SHEBTS-SHEET 2.

y 9/06 in 250% 59a J-z za.

the fol boilers.

PATENT caries".

ALQNZO P'. SMITH, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

victim-Pan.

Specification of Letters Patent.

ate ed M r h 1908..

Application filed. June 2, 904. SerIaLNQ. 210,824.

To all whom it may concern: h

Be it known that I, ALoNzo P. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Im rovement in Concentrators, of which lbwing is a specification.

My invention relates to evaporators particularly such as are used for the concentration of liquids.

It consists in providing a multi le effect device with improved means fort e distribution of steam and of vapor, for leading the water of condensation to the secondary stills or effects and for alternatively leading this water of condensation to the stills or to the It further consists in providing a baffle late for preventing i uid With the vapor.

t further consists in the use of taper-tubes in the circulating device.

It further consists of novel features of construction, all as will be hereinafter fully set, forth.

Figure 1 represents partly in elevatioii and partly in vertical section, a triple effect illustration. Figs. 3 and 4 are fragmentary vertical sections showin modified forms of the circulating portion 0 the device. Fig. .5 is a similar section showing a modified pipe connection. I

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the figures.

Referring to the drawings, 1, 2 and 3 designate connected evaporator stills or ef-, fects in which a liquid is evaporated or concentrated. Each of these consists of a body 4 and dome 5. In'each is rovided upper and lower crown sheets 6 and 7 respectively,

which are connected by a plurality of tubes 8' swaged or secured in the sheets in the usual manner.

. large passage from the vapor space 8 above the flange 12.

15 designates a fitting adapted to be conthe carrying, over of An annular wall 9 locatedaxi-ally of the crown sheets 6 and 7 forms a relatively nected with a steam ipe leadin from a boiler, not shown. rom the branch-pipes 16 lead to points on diametrically opposite sides of the still 1. Depending pipes 17 connect the. pipes 16 with branches 18 curvedas shown in Fig. 2 and connected with fittings 19 located quadrantly around the peripheryof the still- 1 within the s ace between the crown sheets 6 tting 15 and 7, whic I shall hereafter designate as the steam space. 'From the dome 5 of the still 1 a pipe 20 leads laterally and downwardly to a fitting 21 which is connected by branches 2-2 to downwardly extendin branches '23, thence by lateral curve branches 24 to fittings 25 connecting with the steam space between the crown sheets 6 and 7 of the still 2, it being understood that the fittings 21, 23 and 25 and branches 22 and 24 are similar to the fittings 15, 17 and 19 and to the branches. 16 and 18 res actively. It will also be understood that tiie dome 5 of still 2 is connected with the steam space between the crown sheets of still 3 by a similar system of pipes and fittings I have shown the device as consistof .three stills or efiects connected in tandem, but it is obvious that two, four or any other number of stills may be so .con-

nected; From the dome 5 of still 3 a pipe 26 leads to a condenser 27. provided with a suitable tail pipe 28, the condenser 27 being also connected by means of a pipe 29 to a vacuum indicated by the words space in still 2. A branch 32 sw'a ed into;

e lowercrown sheet 7 of still 2 an passing through the. still bottom 10 also connects with the pipe 30. In the same way the tap ed b a pipe 30 which all tlie stills and is connected steam. space of still 3 is, connected bybranches '33, 34' with the pipe 30. 1 Suitable valves 35 and 36 are placed in .the riser or inlet ipes 31 and 33 respectively, while ether va {v'es 37, 38' are placed in the pipe 30 on the pump side of the risers 31 and 33.

39 designates aliquid tank'connected bya pipe 40', in which is' a valve 41, to an'annular' tt ing 42 located within the liquid space between the crown sheet 7 and the bottom 10 of the still 1; The ringor annular fitting .42 V

Pt i 9o pump A" in 1g. 1 of the drawings. The 4 will be to ve scribed.

is provided with a series of perforations 43,

as shown in F l of the drawings. A pipe 44 havin a v5 e 45 leads from the bottom 10 of stil 1 to a perforated annular fitting 46 within the still 2, the ring being similar in form and osition to. the ring 42 above den likemanner a pipe'47 having a valve 48 communicates with a similarly formed and located ring, not shown, in the bottom of still 3. A plpe 49in which is a valve 50 leads to a pump, not shown, but marked as pump 0 in Fig. 1.

In Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings, (I have shown portions of crown sheets 6 and 7 in which are tubes 51 and 52 respectively.

.The tubes 51 as shown in Fig. 3 taper downwardly while the tubes 52 shown in Fig. 4 have their largest diameter at the lower ends and taper upwardly.

The operation is as follows :The valves 41, 45 and 48 being open, weak liquid, which it is desired to concentrate, is permitted to flow from a suitable receptacle, as the tank 39, into all of the stills or effects until their upper crown sheets 6 are'covered. Pump A 1s then started-to reduce, the atmospheric pressure, a vacuum of about 28% lnches eing ordinarily carried in the third still or efiect. Steam is then admitted to still 1 through the tee 15 and connecting branches and through the four fittings 19 to the s ace between t e crown sheets 6 and 7 whic incloses the tube 8. It will be noted that the effect of the distribution of the steam to the four quadrantal points of the steam space evenly distribute the steam so that practica ly none of the tubes 8 are more heated than the others. Owing to the heating surface of the tubes being relatively greater than that of the wall 9, a circulation of the liquid will be set up as shown by the arrows in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The steam being-introduced under pressure of say five pounds and a vacuum of about five inchesbeing obtained, it is obvious that a violent ebul ition of the liquid will occur. The resulting vapor will be carried ofi through the pipe 20 and branches 22 and 24 and be distrlbut'ed very equally through the space between the crown sheets in still 2 where it will set up a boiling of the liquid therein, the vacuum being about sixteen inches. In the same way the vapor from the still 2 is car- ,ried vover, distributed and used in still 3,

with of course a similar effect. From the still 3 the vapor passes through the pipe 26 to the condenser'27 in which vacuum is produced by means of a pump A. It is obvious that the baffle plates 11 will act to prevent the raising andcarr-ying over of molecules of the liquid with the vapor.

To assist in the eva oration of the liquid in the secondary stil s, the water of condensation produced in the steam space of still 1 is carried by means of pipe 30 and adab e on account of t manner the opening of valve 33 and the closing of valve 38 permits the water of condensation to pass from still 2 to still 3. From the last still, which in this case is still '3, this water is drawn off by branch 34 into pipe 30, which as already ex lained, is connected with pump B, which eads to the hot well or the like.

By passing the liquid from tank 39 through a series of erforations 43, in the annular fitting 42 it is fed into the still in a finely divided state which still further conduces to that uniformity of distribution and of heating which it is the object of my invention to secure. This advantage is continued by the use of the like perforated rings in each of the secondary stills or effects. It is obvious that heat units may be conserved by jacketing all the connecting pipes and fittings in any Well known manner.

For most purposes the ordinary straight tubes 8 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawin s, givesatisfactorg results and are prefereir relatively low cost. For concentrating a salt solution, however, the tubes shownin Fig. 3, having their largest diameters at the lower ends are preferable as tending considerably to prevent loss of conductivity by incrustation, while the reversely tapered tubes, shown in Fig. 4,

are advantageous in the case of very light solutions in preventing carrying over of the li ui ln Fig. 5, I have shown a mode of securing the branches which connect the steam space with the pi e' 30'. Where acids are being concentrate these pipes are quite rapidly destroyed. By taper threading the upper end of the riser 3O where it enters the crown sheet 7 and passing it through a suitable stufling box in the bottom 43 of the still, it may be readily removed and replaced without injury to the other parts and at little trouble or expense.

By means of the various devices shown for securing a uniform distribution of the heat and of the li uid to all parts of each of the stills, which evices may be usedv togetheror separately as desired, am able to secure much more economical results than have heretofore been attained.

It is evident that various changes may be made by those skilled in the art, which may come within the scope of my invention and I do not therefore desire to be limited in every instance to the exact construction herein shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

'1. An evaporator having a steam space, means for admitting a heating agent at quadrantal points from the periphery toward the center of said steam space for uniformly distributing the heati g agent within said steam space, v ertical tu es in said steam space, and a perforated ring beneath said tubes:

2. An evaporator, a pipe connected with said evaporator for supplying a heating agent thereto, a plurality of branches from said pipe, a plurality of branches connecting each of said first-named branches directly with the steam space of the evaporator, tubes in said steam space, and a perforated ring beneath said tubes.

3. An evaporator, a pipe connected therewith for supplying a heating agent thereto, a plurality of branches from said pipe, a plurality of branches connecting each of the first-named branches with the steam space of the evaporator, tubes in said steam space, a perforated ring' beneath said tubes, and a pipe leading from the space below said tubes for connection with the perforated ring of an adjacent evaporator.

4. An evaporator, means in the lower portion thereof for heating and circulating a liquid, embodying vertical tubes in the lower portion of said evaporator with a relatively liquid, embodying vertical tubes in the lower portion of the evaporator with a relatively arge central passage therethrough in combination with a substantially annular perforated ring below the same, means for supplying liquid to said ring, and a perforated baffie plate above and in proximity to the heating means.

6. An evaporator, means in the lower portion thereof for heating and circulating a liquid, a perforated ring near the bottom of the evaporator beneath" the inlets for the I heating agent, a perforated baffie plate above and in roximity to the heating means,

and a plura 'ty of tapered ,tubes between said ring and baffle plate.

ALONZO P. SMITH.

Witnesses:

JOHN A. WIEDERsHEIM, WM. S. JACKSON. 

